This patent is directed to drying systems and methods, and, in particular, to vibratory drying systems and methods utilizing mixing apparatuses.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) may include a variety of materials. For example, there may be lighter-weight materials, such as paper and newsprint. Solid waste may also include heavier-weight materials, such as metal, plastic and glass containers. Also, there may be organic materials, such as vegetation and the like.
There is interest in obtaining further value from MSW, by collecting the recoverable and/or recyclable materials from MSW, for example. Alternatively, there is interest in separating the combustible elements out from the remainder of the MSW, and then burning the separated combustible elements as a fuel source, to provide heat, for example. However, the moisture content of MSW may defeat both attempts to separate MSW into its constituent materials, as well as to use the combustible materials as a fuel source.
Similar remarks may be made in regard to other “waste” products that otherwise would be disposed of in landfills or in some other fashion because the products cannot be put to a commercial use. These products may include a variety of materials of lighter and heavier weight. These products may include organic materials, such as vegetation and the like. These product may have a high moisture content, which may make these “waste” products difficult to separate and difficult to burn or combust.
If a method and apparatus can be found to treat such waste products, two pressing societal issues may be addressed at one time. That is, such a method and apparatus may assist in providing a new fuel source to meet the energy requirements of a growing global population while at the same time limiting the impact of that growing population on the environment in which it lives. Additionally, the new source of fuel may be considered to be renewable, in that it is capable of being replenished in a short amount of time, as opposed to fossil fuels that take many centuries to develop.
However, the methods and apparatuses disclosed herein could be used to separate mixed products, and specifically mixed products with high moisture content, without that product being classified as a “waste” product. Moreover, the methods and apparatuses disclosed here may separate mixed products without addressing the societal issues mentioned above.